Need potting soil but don’t want to buy it from the larger stores… where should I go?
It depends on what you are planning to do with it, but I would recommend the North Vancouver Waste control services centre. They get Grade A (no glass no plastic) Organic-certified compost that is fully broken down (no weeds, very fine). They sell it in pure compost or garden ready mixes. The best part is you can get exactly as much as you would like, bring your own bucket or truck and they also deliver. I have gotten at least 5 truckloads from them over the years and it works great for gardening.
https://depot.wastecontrolservices.com/pages/soil-depot
If you are looking to grow grass and level out areas, you need a dirt sand mixture. For that I would recommend Lawn Boy or Ground Works Construction Supply.
Other people recommended Garden Works which is just a fantastic store and I love going but $$$. Show up early and get the eggs benedict, if you’re late you’ll be throwing elbows with the grey-hairs.
Plant nurseries and landscape companies.
Hurry up tho OP cuz a lot of them close around this time of year.
Might get some good deals!
DIRT!
Your local landscaping supplier should have bagged substrates as well as large quantities of soil, compost, and other materials. A quick search showed several to choose from, so you should be able to find one that lets you feel good about giving them your business
Places like Creative Bricks and Blocks sell topsoil by the yard (ie it fills a pickup truck), but they also sell smaller quantities. I often see people at the big topsoil bin filling their own bag or bucket for smaller gardens.
A whole truck load of soil is like $45 so a small quantities will be absurdly cheaper than buying pre-bagged soil from a retail store.
There’s also lots of local garden centres that sell bagged soil. GardenWorks has been a go-to for me for years. They’re generally priced close to the big box stores and have a wider selection of soils.
Another option are nurseries. I go to Sun Tai Tsang farms in Burnaby in the spring to buy plants and they always have a good selection of bagged soil, and they’re usually cheaper than retail stores on practically everything they sell. Cheap local eggs too!
In the Kitsilano area there’s Hunter’s garden centre, for example. Be aware of Japanese beetle restrictions.
Potting soil is fairly easy to mix yourself FYI. You can order the ingredients from most garden suppliers in town or online. Plenty of gardeners swear by it.
